


Not dating

by thetwistedcelestials



Series: Dating/Not dating [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 11:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetwistedcelestials/pseuds/thetwistedcelestials
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Oh my god!”  Stiles repeated. “He thinks I’m….you’re my…we’re...”  He scrubbed his face and fell onto the couch next to Danny, laughing weakly.</i>
</p>
<p>  <i>“Dude, are you okay?”  Danny was a little concerned.  What had Stiles just realized?</i></p>
<p>  <i>Stiles grinned sheepishly at him.  (Oh man…) “Danny, my boy.  My dad thinks…he thinks we’re a couple.  That’s why he kept asking you questions.  And dropping hints.”  Stiles thinks a moment longer.  “Actually, Scott seems to think that too.”</i></p>
<p>  <i>Danny stared back at the other teen in confusion.  “Wait…what?!  Why would they think that?"</i></p>
<p>The one where everyone thinks Danny and Stiles are dating (they're not).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When I originally posted this story years ago on ff.net, I left it on a cliffhanger, fully intending to write a sequel. Then life happened.
> 
> I recently finished writing the sequel. So, I figured I'd give any ao3 readers a chance to read it, then I'll post the sequel in a week or so.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome! I hope you enjoy.
> 
> This chapter is set during season 1's "Wolf's Bane" and "Co-Captain".

Danny sat in front of his computer, checking his e-mail, again. Still nothing. Was Stiles going to e-mail him like he said he would? Where had he been tonight? Tonight’s lacrosse game had gone surprisingly well; Scott had even apologized-without-apologizing for his violent behavior the other day. 

The teen smiled as he remembered some of the goals the team had made. They had pulled through and managed to work together well enough to make it to state, even with their missing members. Danny frowned. Speaking of which…

…still no e-mails. Sighing, Danny sent Stiles a text.

**Where were you tonight? And did you finish your half of the chemistry report? It’s due tomorrow.**

Danny couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated with Stiles. Normally, the other teen was a good lab partner: smart, reliable, and punctual with his work, if a little annoying at times. Lately though, Stiles had seemed more distracted and Danny felt like he had to nag to make sure their work was done on time. There hadn’t been any problems so far, but Danny couldn’t afford a missed report. 

He would wish that he was partnered with his best friend, but lately Jackson had been acting strange too. Even when Jackson and Lydia had started dating, he made sure to spend some time with Danny. But now, it was like Jackson didn’t have time to hang out at all. Jackson had developed a weird…thing about Scott. Sure the guy was co-captain now, and Jackson had never been a team player. But it was bordering on creepy the way he…

His phone buzzed, interrupting his thoughts. Stiles.

**I’ll have the report done. Meet me at your locker tomorrow morning, before school.**

Ugh. Danny knew that Stiles would do a good job on the report; he just hated that the other teen had left it to the last minute. What was going on? Having a lacrosse game on Thursday had already made Danny nervous about the report being due Friday. And that stunt Stiles had pulled earlier today! That did NOT help Danny’s faith in Stiles. Damn kid, using his cousin to bribe Danny into a misdemeanor. Though, the way those shoulders flexed when he was raising those tiny shirts over his head…and (Danny licked his lips) how does _anyone_ have that many abs?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Danny headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Not thinking about that. Not thinking about that broad chest or that tattoo or those arms or…nope. Not thinking about it. _I just need to survive high school and get out of here._ Sighing again, he turned-off the light and crawled into bed. _Just a couple more years…_

\--

Stiles’ mind was whirling. How was he still alive? How was Derek’s uncle the Alpha? Where the heck did they both go? And why was that hospital so freaking empty? Shouldn’t there have been, like, a night shift or something? Did they kill everyone? No, no…that would’ve been crazy obvious.

His nerves were still jangling from the wolf-on-wolf battle royale he had been caught in the middle of. The teen had been so certain he was going to die, staring into the eyes of Derek’s not-so-comatose uncle. Weirdly enough, Stiles had a feeling that the psycho nurse would probably be the one that starred in his nightmares. She was just so damn…creepy. What kind of a _nurse_ helps their patient kill people? His fingers drummed on his steering wheel nervously, as he drove aimlessly, not sure what he should do. How many times had he felt close to death since Scott…?

His phone buzzed, making Stiles to jump in his seat. Pulling to the side of the road, he grabbed his phone. Please be Scott. Please be Scott. Or even Derek. Or…Danny? Frowning, Stiles opened the message.

**Where were you tonight? And did you finish your half of the chemistry report? It’s due tomorrow.**

Crap. He had totally forgotten about the report. It was started and he had been planning on finishing it. After, you know, Danny helped him trace the text message. Except that led to the visit to the hospital. And then the whole “I’m gonna die” thing drove it out of his mind (At least the threat of dying almost made him forget missing his first lacrosse game. Almost…).

Stiles sighed. When did life get so complicated? And why did it have to suck so much? What other teenager had to deal with all of this almost-dying-while-helping-his-best-friend-deal-with-being-a-werewolf-and-trying-to-stop-a-psychotic-werewolf-from-slaughtering-the-town while having to do homework? This was so not the glorious adventure the comics showed.

Huffing to himself about comic book lies, Stiles sent Danny a text, telling him he’d have his part of the report ready tomorrow morning and to meet at Danny’s locker before school. Scott wasn’t answering his phone. And given what he had caught of the conversation between Derek and Uncle Psycho Alpha…  
Cursing softly under his breath, Stiles started his car again and headed towards the school. Deal with the werewolf problem, make sure Scott is okay, and then homework. At least he might be able to avoid having to deal with his dad’s uncomfortable questions about why he had missed his first lacrosse game. Stiles hated lying to his dad.

_Damn it…_


	2. Chapter 2

Danny leaned against his locker, his foot tapping impatiently. There were still ten minutes before first period, but he was getting nervous. Was Stiles going to show up? Would the report be okay? The report was worth twenty percent of their final grade. He needed to do well in this course; so far, the rest of his work had been good. But if this report didn’t go well…

The anxiety and annoyance were building up in Danny’s chest again. Why did Harris have to assign Stiles to be his lab partner? Letting his breath out slowly, he looked up and down the halls. Several other students were milling around, opening and closing lockers as they prepared for another day at school. Where was his lab partner?

Finally, Danny saw Stiles walking down the hall towards him, some papers in his hands. When he saw Danny was waiting, he sped up a bit and trotted over.

“Hey. Is it done?” Danny asked.

“Yeah, here it is. Sorry I didn’t get it to you earlier,” Stiles said quickly, handing Danny a bound packet of papers.

Danny took it and started flipping through it. It looked good. Nicely detailed charts and graphs (Harris loved that junk), reasonable amount of text, subheadings. Danny sighed in relief. It looked like Stiles managed to pull together another good report.

“Hey Danny, could I ask you a favor? Did you do the math homework? ‘cause I didn’t quite finish and I was hoping…”

Danny cut him off, still flipping through the report. “Dude, I’m not letting you copy my homework. Do your own work.” He expected Stiles to beg or make a flippant remark or something, but the other teen just went a still.

Danny looked up from the report and felt a little bad for snapping at Stiles. The look on Stiles’ face was making Danny feel kind of…guilty. The guy was really was damn expressive. It’s just…Danny REALLY couldn’t afford to miss this report and he kept waking up last night worried about it. He tended to be a bit grumpy when he was tired. Breathing out again, he said “Sorry, I just…”

This time, Stiles cut him off with a glare, “I wasn’t going to copy. I just needed help with one of the pro-…You know what? Forget about it. I’ll see you in class.” Stiles turned on his heel and stalked-off, scrubbing his face. Danny frowned at the other guy’s back. The report really did look good; Stiles had probably put together a good chunk of it before last night, given the level of detail. And, weirdly enough, Danny couldn’t help but feel a little worried about the dark circles under Stiles’ eyes. He could spare a little time to help Stiles.

Danny jogged to catch up to Stiles. “Hey Stiles…”

\---

Stiles stormed away from his lab partner, angry at how unhelpful he was being. Stiles had never tried copying homework (from Danny, anyways). And after staying up all night finishing that stupid report! After, if he might add just a little detail, having his life threatened. Twice!

He knew he was being unreasonable, but Stiles had given up on being reasonable at around three in the morning. The late nights chasing Scott around or researching werewolf lore or waiting for his dad to come home were catching to him. God, he wanted to sleep; normally he would have used his lunch hour to nap after a late night, but he knew he had to figure out that damn math homework. And it would probably take him his study hall period too! Gah, what kind of werewolf sidekick has to deal with quadratic equations on top of helping keep his best friend alive? Jeez!

It had taken him a couple of hours to find Scott last night and for them to piece together the night’s events. Stiles hadn’t even gotten home until after midnight, only to find a note from his dad saying that they needed to talk. Well, at least his dad and Scott were safe and the report was done. Just have to make it through the day.

Mulling over his thoughts, Stiles didn’t hear his name being called until a hand clasped his shoulder.  
“Hey, Stiles. Wait up.” Stiles looked up to see that it was Danny who had grabbed him. “Look…you did a great job on the report, as always. So, thanks for that. I just…I really need a good grade in chem. And…yeah, there’s just too much going on with the semester ending. It’s stressing me out. So…sorry."

Stiles shrugged his shoulders, trying to lose some tension. He didn’t need to take out his supernatural stress out on Danny. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah, I know. Me, too. Sorry I didn’t get the report to you earlier.”

“Yeah, well…it’s done now. Do you want to work on the math homework in study hall?”

Stiles grinned. “Yes! That would be great. The quadratic stuff is just kicking my butt.” _…when werewolves aren’t_ , he added in his head.

“Okay. I’ll see you then.”

“Thanks Danny.”


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles hummed to himself as he worked through the math homework. The class was moving into more and more complex quadratic equations, but yesterday’s study session with Danny had been a big help on that front. So much that Stiles had convinced Danny to study with him today. Looking up, he saw Danny looking at him with an amused look. “What?” Stiles asked.

“You’re using the quadratic song, aren’t you?”

Blushing a little, Stiles nodded. “Well…yeah. It works.” Danny laughed at him. “Hey! You were the one to teach it to me!”

“Right. And I told you it was going to stick in your head, even though you said it was dorky.”

“Well, yeah, it is really dorky…”

Pushing the other boy’s shoulder lightly, Danny smiled at Stiles. It was nice to hang out, without all the drama that had been gathering around Jackson lately. Why had the other boy dumped Lydia so suddenly? And rudely. Danny was not looking forward to the fallout from that.

Danny looked up when Stiles threw down his pencil. “Bah. It’s Saturday. Why are we doing homework? Shouldn’t we be having some fun?”

“Well…for one thing, finals are coming up. And for another, both of our best friends keep going AWOL.”

Stiles wrinkled his nose at that. “We have sucky best friends.”

Danny had to laugh at Stiles again. He had to admit, the other guy made him laugh pretty often. “Yeah, we do. I thought Scott and Alison broke-up? How is he still wrapped up around her?”

Stiles just shrugged his shoulders. “Alison thinks they broke up. Scott, on the other hand, is stubborn as a mule. You might not think that, looking at him but…he’s probably serenading her window right now.” He shook his head at that thought. “Oh Scott…what has love done to you?”

“Yeah, well at least you know where Scott is. Jackson hasn’t even been returning my calls lately. He has that weird obsession with Scott lately.” A thought flashed through his mind. “…you know, maybe Jackson is stalking Scott, stalking Alison. Or maybe they’re in a weird three-way love triangle…?”

The two teens paused at the images that suggested. Like Jackson hiding in the bushes, staring hungrily as Scott sang to an open window. Or, the three of them on a bed together, their naked bodies writhing in- “Dude…that’s just a creepy thought,” Danny said.

Stiles had an idea of what Jackson was probably doing, but the image was hilariously disturbing. Glancing at the clock, the teen decided it was dinnertime. “Do you want some food?”

Looking at his watch, Danny nodded. “Sure, why not. Do you want to go somewhere?”

“Nah. I need to make sure my dad has something to eat too and I was planning on cooking tonight anyways. If you’re willing to help, you’re welcome to join.”

Danny was surprised. “You can cook?”

“Hey! I am perfectly capable of cooking! Who do you think does all the cooking around here? I had to ban my dad from going near the stove unsupervised.” Stiles shook his head. “Especially after that breakfast incident...”

From the look on Stiles’ face, Danny knew he had to get the full story on that someday. But for now, his stomach was telling him it was dinner time. “So. What were you planning on making? And how can I help?”  
\--  
In short order, the two teens had pulled together a nice, simple meal: salad, garlic bread, and pasta. Danny had been surprised that Stiles even made the pasta sauce from scratch. The teen really did know how to cook.

And for his part, Stiles was glad for the help. Though he normally did the cooking himself, it was nice to have a second pair of hands around to help chop and to chat with. Danny was good company, though Stiles was still going to tease him about almost burning the garlic bread.

“Do you want to watch a movie while we eat?” Stiles asked.

“Uh, sure. Would it be okay to eat in the family room?” Danny asked, but Stiles was already heading into the family room, already having set aside a plate for his dad. Following with his own plate, Danny seated himself on the floor by the coffee table while Stiles fiddled with the TV.

“Any preferences?” Stiles asked, holding up a few options.

“Nah, I’m flexible.” Danny said. Taking a bite of the food, he added, “Man, this is really good. We make a pretty good team.”

Stiles smiled and nodded as he sat down next to Danny, the movie starting in the background. “Yeah we do. You’re pretty good in the kitchen…you know, when you’re not burning the toast.” That earned him an eye roll from the other teen. “It’s okay, I saved the day. And it still tastes good.”

The two teens dug into their food with gusto, while the movie played. Stiles smiled to himself as he ate. This was really nice. He had forgotten what it was like to sit and relax in front of a movie. Heck, even doing homework with Danny had been a nice change of pace. He glanced over at the other teen. Danny brought a nice sense of normal back into Stiles’ supernatural life.

Danny caught Stiles smiling at him. “What?” he asked. Stiles just grinned back, mumbling through a bite of garlic bread about how it was nice to just hang out and think about things like school and movies. Stiles didn’t seem like he was going to explain, so Danny just nodded and shrugged. It was nice, to not worry about the weird issues Jackson was showing. Stiles and Danny didn’t have much history; they had a fresh start.

Finishing their food, the two teens moved onto the couch. Stretching his arms up, Stiles let out a sleepy little groan. “Mmm…that was good.”

Danny sighed contentedly. “Yeah. Tasty food.” He was full and relaxed; Stiles had picked an animated feature to watch, but it was surprisingly good. Maybe he should try seeing more of these new animated movies Stiles kept raving about in class.

The two teens settled further into the couch, comfortable and just a little sleepy, letting the movie carry them away from high school for a little while.


	4. Chapter 4

With a relieved sigh, the Sheriff pulled up into his driveway, off early for once. He noted a car he didn't recognize parked in front of the house. "Huh. Stiles must have a friend over. That's good." Sheriff Stilinski was glad that Stiles had made a new friend. Lately, he'd noticed his son seemed a little more nervous and even odder than usual. The Sheriff chalked it up, at least partly, to the fact that Scott had been spending a lot of time with Allison. And, the Sheriff thinks guiltily, because his father hasn't been around as much as he should be.

The Sheriff reminded himself for the umpteenth time that, though he has a responsibility to the town, he also has a responsibility to be there for his son. After all of these...mountain lion attacks are solved, Stiles and I can go somewhere. Spend some quality time together, he promised himself.

Maybe Stiles' friend would like to stay for dinner. For once, the Sheriff was home early enough for at least a late dinner. And, knowing teenagers, even if they had eaten, they wouldn't mind a second meal. He shook his head ruefully, remembering his own days as a pizza-devouring teenager. Those were the days, he thinks to himself as he unlocked the door.

Hearing the TV playing, but no voices, the Sheriff headed over to see if they would be interested in dinner. Maybe pizza? Smells like they already made some food. Ha, Stiles won’t even let me into the kitchen after the toaster incident. The last time the Sheriff had attempted to make breakfast, some years ago, the fire department almost had to get involved and Stiles, only twelve at the time, had banned his father from the kitchen without supervision. At least he learned how to use the fire extinguisher. And I learned to order take-out.

Stiles had since learned to cook and handled most of the cooking quite well. And nags me to keep on my diet at the same time. The Sheriff shook his head ruefully again, as he moved towards the sound of the TV.

A movie was playing on the TV, something animated and 3D. Probably something Stiles had picked out; he enjoyed the wildness of animated movies. The Sheriff saw a dark-haired boy with his head tilted back on the couch, eyes closed. But Stiles wasn't in sight. Stepping further into the room, the Sheriff saw where Stiles was. And came to a complete stop. Stiles was… And his friend was… Was Stiles...?

It took a few moments for the Sheriff to process the sight in front of him. The movie kept playing in the background, completely unattended by the three occupants. Two of those occupants were currently dead to the world, oblivious to the TV. The third, the stunned Sheriff, had all of his attention focused on the fact that his son was cradled in another boy’s lap, fast asleep (a traitorous part of his brain pointed out he should be glad they weren’t in an even more…compromising position).

Oh boy..., he thought to himself. ...okay. What do I do? Neither boy had noticed the Sheriff's entrance, so he had some time to decide what to do. Okay...right, the Sheriff continued thinking to himself, trying to figure out the best course of action. Should he wake them up and....no, that sounded like a terrible idea. Stiles should come to his dad, not feel like he was caught doing something. The Sheriff wanted Stiles to feel comfortable enough to talk to him on his own. So...escape. Yes, the Sheriff could go back out to the car. Go on another patrol. And...and make sure he made more noise the next time he came back home. Right.

Slowly walking back towards the door, he winced at each creak of the floorboards. Luckily, both boys were sound asleep and didn't even notice when the door opened. In the sanctuary of his car, the Sheriff started to play out how to have this conversation with Stiles.

"Son, I'll always love you, no matter what" was about as far as he got. And dinner to meet with Stiles’…friend? Boyfriend? Lover? Oh god, he was going to have to have “The Talk” with Stiles. He was going to have to do some research. The Sheriff swallowed nervously at that thought. Hoo-boy.

Although this did help explain some of the odd behavior. The late nights, the obvious excuses for where he had been, nights spent "hanging out at Scott’s" even though the Sheriff knew that Stiles wasn't. Not that he spied on his son; just that there are only so many times that he could catch Stiles lying before he started wondering a little about where Stiles really was up to. A relationship that Stiles wasn't too sure about yet could certainly help explain some of that. Dinner with Stiles' friend (Danny, corrected himself, belatedly remembering meeting the teen when he had been working with Stiles) seemed more and more like a good idea.

\--

The muffled sound of a car motor starting came in through the window. Danny felt a warm weight in his arms and it felt…nice. He gently petted the person in his arms, earning a contented groan. Danny liked dreams like this. He shifted forward, so he could better wrap his arms around the body. Nuzzling the warm, fuzzy head, he sighed. He didn’t want to wake up.

Stiles felt someone gently caressing his sides and he groaned a little and snuggled closer to the warm lap his head was resting on. _Sooo coooomfy._ A nose was gently nuzzling into his neck and he tilted his head to let it in. _Hmmm…how did I get here again…?_

Both teens froze. Blinking sleep away, Stiles slowly sat up as he felt the arms around him release their hold. He glanced to his left and looked away quickly when his eyes met Danny’s. Briefly, Stiles wondered if his face was red as it felt and how it was that a blush was so bright on Danny’s dark skin.

Danny cleared his throat. “Um…I think we fell asleep.” 

"Yeah."

"Right."

An awkward silence fell between them. Stiles hated awkward silences. He always said something...

"You know, your lap is really comfortable. I think that was, like, the best sleep I've had in a long time."

...stupid.


	5. Chapter 5

Stiles. Was. Stoked! Allison asked him to meet her and Lydia at Macy’s. She said something about doing some dress shopping, which kind of confused him, until she told him that Lydia was going to ask him to go to the formal with him! Sure, there was probably some arm-twisting involved, but for once Lydia was going to pay attention to him. And that’s when Stiles was going to turn-up the charm. She was going to be like putty in his hands.

The grin on his face almost hurt it was so big, but he couldn’t stop as he rushed home. He just wanted to drop off his stuff, maybe get a little spruced-up and then he would go meet the girls. Yes! This. Was. Awesome!

Dashing through the door, Stiles ran upstairs to drop off his things. What to wear, what to wear…?

“Stiles?”

“Dad?” Stiles felt a moment of alarm. Why was his dad home so early? He was almost never home when Stiles got out of school. “Everything okay? Where are you?” The teen left his room to go find his dad.

The Sheriff was sitting in the living room. He had been preparing himself to have “The Talk” with his son all day. He couldn’t help but jiggle his leg a little bit. “Hey Stiles. Can we, uh, talk for a moment?”

“Sure Dad. Uh, what did you want to talk about?” Stiles sat down, feigning a relaxed attitude. Inside, thoughts and scenarios rapidly flashing past. Did his dad find out about something? Did his dad figure out it was more than coincidence that Scott and he kept showing up near the “mountain lion” attacks? Was his dad somehow suspicious of the friendship (if it was a friendship) between the teens and Derek? Did the state investigators turn up something to link Stiles and Scott to the mysteries? Did one of the pranks he and his best friend had pulled over the years finally catch up to them?

The older Stilinski cleared his throat nervously; he could tell his son was also a little apprehensive. “Son, I think we should talk about…um…well, we should talk about the facts of life.”

Stiles jaw dropped. This was…unexpected, to say the least. And, while it was a relief in some ways, it opened a whole can of awkward. “Ummm…Dad? We kind of covered that sort of thing in school…” Stiles said, hoping to avoid a very uncomfortable conversation.

The Sheriff shifted in his seat, just as discomfited as his son. “I didn’t mean the mechanics of sex,” he blurted out. Both Stilinski’s blushed. The word just hung between them, like an awkward third party. “I was talking about the…consequences and feelings that go with…it.” He waved his hands vaguely, trying to encompass his meaning.

“Oh…um, okay.” Stiles replied, sitting on the edge of the couch. That might not be…quite as awkward.

Relieved that his son didn’t want to talk about the mechanics (the Sheriff hadn’t been able to bring himself to actually look up the mechanics of how...well, how two men would make love), he cleared his throat nervously. “When two…people first decide to…make love,” he started, “They don’t always understand…um…well, how important it is.”

Stiles stared, trapped in a growing, embarrassed fascination as his father continued.

“See…making love…is a very emotional act between two _people_ ” the older Stilinski continued, making sure to emphasize “people” slightly. “Even when it seems like it’s…just…fun, there’s always a little more going on under the surface. Making love always means something.” He trailed off, looking at his son to see if he was following.

Stiles nodded. This was…different. Unexpected and yes, totally awkward. But, in a weird way, it warmed his heart a little to hear his Dad talk about it. Well, more that he was willing to be so uncomfortable for his son’s sake.

“And…I want you to know, that, no matter who you choose to…be with…intimately…um…it’s much…better and good, if there is love and trust between the two of you.” The last came out in a rush of words. Both Stilinski’s took a deep breath, feeling like they had passed over a deep impasse.

Stiles knew his father wanted a response, but what exactly do you say? “O-okay. Um…thanks Dad. Um…I will definitely keep your words in mind. If…when. The situation arises. That I will need this advice. When I am thinking about being…intimate. With someone.” 

The Sheriff nodded. “Yes, do…think about it. And, uh, let me know if you have questions. I know it’s…awkward to talk about. But, I’m here for you.”

“O-okay. Thanks Dad. …I love you.”

“I love you to son.” Catching his son’s eyes, the Sheriff continued, “Remember that I’ll love you, no matter what, okay? So, if you need to tell me anything…that won’t change.”

Stiles nodded. “Okay.”

Both Stilinskis took another deep breath. 

“Well, I should get to work.”

“Right. Yeah. Um, good talk. I should…go too. I was going to meet Allison and Lydia at the mall. Gotta get ready for the formal. And stuff.” His dad pulled him into a quick hug, then let him out the door. That had been….weird, but good. Smiling to himself, Stiles climbed in his Jeep, feeling even better about his life. _Things are looking up._


	6. Chapter 6

“Bwahahahahaha!!”

“Shut up, it’s not that funny!”

“Yes, actually, it is,” Scott replied, still laughing at his best friend.

Stiles chewed on his lip, a little annoyed. Why had he decided to tell Scott about the awkward conversation he had had with his dad? To be fair, if their roles were reversed, Stiles probably would react in a very similar fashion.

“Ahhh, man,” Scott said, taking a deep breath. “I needed that.”

Stiles just rolled his eyes. “Anyways, if you’re done laughing, I have some other news to share.” Stiles grinned happily at this. He had a feeling Scott’s mind was about to be blown.

“Is it going to top your dad sitting you down to talk about ‘the birds and the bees’?” the brunette teased.

“Shut up and yes it will,” Stiles said. Pausing dramatically, he announced, “I. Am going to the dance. With Lydia Martin!”

Scott gaped at his best friend. “Seriously dude? Wow! Congratulations!” He was surprised (shocked, even), but really happy for his friend. Though…

“I know, it’s weird. Allison probably had to twist Lydia’s arm a little. But I’m going to charm her cute little shoes right off and she’s not going to be able to help but fall in love with me.” Stiles said confidently. Stiles noticed his friend’s face fall at the mention of Allison; he squeezed Scott’s shoulder sympathetically.

“I’m okay. I’m going to get her back, Stiles.”

Stiles nodded, even though he wanted to say there were more important things to worry about at the moment. But maybe they both needed to just be teenagers for a little while.  
\--  
“You had some nice saves today, Danny. Keep that up and we will own State this year.”

Danny nodded, smiling at his teammate. “Thanks man. We played well today, didn’t we?”

Jackson finished putting his pads away in the locker adjacent Danny’s. He looked at his best friend. There had been a lot on his mind lately: specifically, McCall and his stupid secret. When Jackson got what he wanted, he was going to make McCall pay for that incident in the locker rooms a few days ago…

Glancing at his best friend, Jackson felt a twinge of guilt. He knew that his friendship with Danny had been on the backburner this year. And he had noticed that his star goalie seemed to be spending more and more time with that Stiles kid. Given that Jackson knew Danny’s tells… sighing, Jackson decided the least he could do was offer some sympathy.

“I heard that Stiles was going to the formal with Lydia,” Jackson started. “…are you okay?”

Danny looked at his friend, bemused. Why was Jackson looking so earnest? “Dude, shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Jackson just gave Danny a look, the one that said, “Don’t act stupid, stupid.” Shaking his head, he just said, “Look, I’ll lay off Stilinski for your sake. But, really man, you could do better.” Clapping his confused friend on the shoulder, Jackson walked out of the locker room. He had to keep putting pressure on McCall to get what he wanted.  
\--  
“Hey.”

“Hey.” Scott couldn’t help smiling, even now, when he saw Allison. They were still working on the ‘being friends’ thing. “So…um…how’s it going?” He cringed inside, knowing how lame that sounded.

Allison grinned a little at Scott’s earnestness. “It’s going okay. And you?” She really did miss him…

“Okay too. Stiles said he was going to the formal with Lydia?”

Allison nodded. “Yeah. Lydia asked him the other day.” She didn’t want to get into the details about how that happened; probably would just be even more awkward. Looking down the hall, she noticed Stiles and Danny talking. She smiled, pointing them out to Scott. “It’s great that Stiles and Danny are getting along better. It looks like Danny has warmed up to Stiles.”

Scott looked over to where Allison pointed out. Danny was ducking his head, laughing easily at a story or joke Stiles was telling with a giant grin on his face, waving his arms for emphasis. Scott had to smile at the two. They looked so relaxed and happy. Kind of like Allison and him…

“You know, they would make a good couple,” Allison said. When Scott blinked at her, she laughed sheepishly. “Okay, I know, that was really random.”

Scott looked back at his two classmates. Frowning to himself, he studied them a little more closely. Though it hadn’t really occurred to him before, Allison might not be totally off. “Actually…”  
Allison and the teen wolf looked at one another and then back to the two boys. Stiles was throwing his arm around his companion, pulling him down the hall.

“He did say Lydia was the only girl he had ever loved.”

“And Danny certainly has opened up to him.”

“They do get along tremendously well.”

“They could just be friends.”

“Right. And Stiles can be a very physical person with his friends.”

“But still…”

Scott looked at Allison. “Do you really think…? I…hm…”

\--  
Stiles looked as his phone buzzed him with an incoming call. It was from Scott. Glancing over at his lab partner, he excused himself. Hopefully this wasn’t an emergency…

“Hey Scott. What’s up?”

“Uh, hey Stiles. Nothing much. You?” Okay, so not an emergency. Unless Scott was kidnapped and was trying to speak in code?

“Just studying with Danny.”

“O-oh. Um, good. Sorry to interrupt. I, uh, I just wanted to say. Um, to say that, you’re always going to be my best friend, okay? Nothing is going to change that.”

Stiles could feel his brow furrow. “Uh, thanks Scott. You too. You’re like the twin brother I was separated from at birth. Due to having different parents.”

Scott laughed at his friend’s joke. “Okay. I just wanted to let you know. So uh…go and have fun ‘studying’ with Danny.”

“Thanks Scott. I appreciate the random show of affection?”

“Sure. So…if you ever want to tell me anything. You know, you can.”

"Okay Scott. I think I'm good for now, though. Uh, I should get back to studying. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Talk with you later, Stiles."

Stiles walked back into the room. Danny gave him a questioning look. "I dunno. Scott just wanted to chat and re-affirm our friendship." Stiles shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay…?" Danny gave his friend a kind of weird look, before turning back to the textbook they were reading through.

"Yeah…" Stiles shrugged his shoulders again, turning back to focus on the reading. He had gotten used to Scott's quirks a long time ago.


	7. Chapter 7

Stiles stared blankly ahead, as the teacher droned on and on. He wasn’t even sure what class he was in anymore. It was the last day of classes before the winter break and Stiles just didn’t really care anymore. It was the week after the formal.

The week after his dream date with Lydia.

The week after Lydia was almost killed.

The week after Derek finally had his revenge.

The week after the Alpha was killed.

Stiles mind was still spinning. His brain was just numb. He needed a break. He needed…

“Stiles!”

Shaking himself, the overworked teen finally looked up. “Huh?”

Danny was looking at him oddly. “Dude, are you going to sit here all weekend?” Danny had his backpack on and the other students were milling around, packing up, and talking about their plans for the holidays. Most of them, it seemed, were heading to Lydia’s party.

Lydia had come out of her coma suddenly, but there was definitely something off about her. Stiles knew he should be puzzling out just what she was. Head-off another disaster before it happened. But Lydia had been doing a great job of avoiding him; then again, she did have a lot of practice ignoring him and it’s not like one date was going to change her mind about him. Especially considering what happened last week.

Like Derek becoming the Alpha.

Or like-

“Stiles!” Danny called again, pulling the other teen out of his circling thoughts. “Did you fall asleep with your eyes open?”

Stiles rubbed a hand over his face, trying to shake off his thoughts. His mind was numb and spinning at the same time. Wait, Danny had asked him a question. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “I asked if you were planning on going to Lydia’s end of the semester party tomorrow. It seems like everyone else is going.”

Stiles shook his head. Go to Lydia’s party so he could spend a lot of time trying to figure out the mystery of what Lydia had become? “No. Nope. Not me.” Stiles took a deep breath, wishing he could empty his head. “I think I’m going to stay at home. Just…recover from exams and stuff, you know?”

Danny nodded sympathetically. That had been one brutal chemistry exam. Dr. Harris’ exams were usually tough, but this was impressive even for him. “Yeah, I think I’m going to skip too. Too much awkwardness with the Jackson/Lydia situation.”

Stiles nodded absently, biting his lip. Jackson was someone else he had to worry about. The lacrosse star had been acting weird. Well, weirder. Stiles had a feeling he should talk with Derek about it. Maybe soon. 

Danny saw the faraway look in his friend’s eyes. He knew that look; the taller teen wore it himself often enough. “You need a break. Take it easy for a few days. Relax, the semester’s over!” He lightly punched Stiles’ shoulder.

Stiles looked at Danny. How did one take a break from the supernatural? From worrying about one’s life? Or the lives of those you cared about? But really, he did just want a break. He wanted to pretend he was a normal teen. Looking up at Danny, Stiles felt like he just hang out with his friends and talk about normal things; not have to worry about the supernatural for a little while. “Do you want to watch a movie?” he blurted out. 

Danny raised an eyebrow in response the teen. He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised or flattered that Stiles’ would consider watching a movie with him to be a relaxing break. “Uh, sure. When?”

“How about tomorrow? I mean, neither of us is going to the party. So…” It would at least be something to do, instead of worrying about Scott, and his renewed relationship with a hunter, or Lydia’s mystery status or Jackson getting himself killed by the new Alpha or…

“That sounds like a plan. It’ll be nice to hang out before the holidays. Your place or mine?”

Stiles smiled. Spending the evening with Danny could be…nice. Just, relax, talk about school, the holidays. No magic bullets. No death threats. No werewolves. “My place. Maybe we can make dinner?”

Danny smiled, nodding in agreement. A drama-free evening. “That sounds great. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

Stiles nodded and the two teens headed to their respective cars, both feeling a little lighter.

\--

“Hey Dad. Your home early.” Stiles greeted his father, happy to see his dad.

“Hey son. Thought it would be nice to spend more time together. Especially with the, ah, mysteries cleared-up.”

Stiles grinned. He was glad to spend time with his dad. And it was a great chance to keep him on his diet. “I like the sound of that. What shall we have for dinner?”

“Well, how about…” the sheriff started.

Stiles gave him a level look. “Ah, ah ah…I trust the words that are coming out next aren’t going to include words like ‘fried’, ‘fast food’, or ‘pizza’.”

The sheriff returned his son’s look. “I do have a gun you know. It’s official and everything. If I want to eat deep-fried pizza, then I am darn well going to eat some deep-fried pizza.”

Both Stilinski’s paused to think about that combination. They wrinkled their noses. “That actually sounds kind of gross.”

Sighing, the sheriff asked, “Well, what would you suggest, Chef Stiles? Your sous chef awaits your command.”

Stiles grinned happily as he headed into the kitchen. “You know you’re not allowed in the kitchen without proper supervision. Besides, I’m thinking about replacing you with Danny; he’s pretty good in the kitchen.”

The older Stilinski paused at the mention of Danny. Stiles’ boyfriend (maybe?). Who his son still hadn’t talked to him about. “Oh, is that so? Well maybe you should show me what you two can do.”

“Well, he was going to come over for dinner and a movie tomorrow. Maybe you could join us?” Stiles said with his head buried in the cupboards.

The sheriff raised his eyebrows in surprise. Was that Stiles’ attempt at dropping a hint? Dinner and a movie was a classic date. And meeting the parents…that meant it was pretty serious.

Pulling ingredients on the counter, Stiles looked at his dad. “How does that sound?”

The sheriff cleared his throat. “That sounds great. I’d like that. And…it would be nice to get to know Danny a little better.”

“Okay, cool.” Shaking a bag, he added. “Shake ‘n’ bake chicken sound okay for tonight?”

“Sounds great.”

\--

“So, what’s on the menu?” Danny asked, walking in with the last of the groceries. He was a little nervous about having dinner with the town sheriff, but Stiles’ dad had seemed nice the few times they had met when Danny had come over to study.

Stiles studied the groceries they had picked up in preparation for dinner. “Hm…I have some chicken marinating in the fridge. Maybe a salad to start?” He started putting ingredients away and grouping them, losing himself in planning the meal.

Danny helped put groceries away, occasionally holding something up for Stiles to decide if it would be used tonight.  
“No…no cabbage tonight. Oh, keep the millet and rice out. How about rosemary potatoes? Maybe we could broil the chicken…” He clicked the oven on, pre-heating the broiler.

The sheriff was sitting in the living room. Stiles has asked (More like ordered, the older Stilinski thought ruefully) his dad to set the table and stay out of trouble. He listened to the two cook as he set the plates out.

“Could you lay out the chicken on the pan?”

“Ew, you mean, touch it?” The sheriff could hear the chuckle following that.

“Dude, stop being such a wuss.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who refuses to handle the hydrochloric acid in lab.”

“Man, do you have ANY IDEA what that stuff can do to you? Salt please.”

“Here. Olive oil? Thanks. Whatever dude. You’re so clumsy, it would probably get over both of us ANYway.”

“Tch, right, whatever. You know you love having me as a lab partner.” The timer started to beeped. “Augh! Oven mitts? Which one is that?” 

“Haha, I suppose you are pretty good at chemistry. Here. It’s the potatoes. Though Lydia might say otherwise…”

“Ouch, man, ouch. You wound me. Okay, just a few more minutes for the chicken then.”

The sheriff smiled to himself as he shamelessly eavesdropped. He’s glad the two of them got along so well. Danny seemed like a good kid. Though, the sheriff definitely wanted to learn some more about him. He headed towards the kitchen, to see how dinner was progressing. Pausing in the doorway, he took in the scene.

Notes of rosemary and citrus filled the room, with a warm and lovely scent coming from the oven. Stiles was leaning back on the counter next to the sink, leaning in to nudge Danny’s shoulder. Danny was hand-washing some of the dishes they must have used when cooking, laughing at something Stiles had said. Both of them had huge grins on their faces. The proud father could feel his own smile come up in response. The lines were eased in his son’s eyes. Someday, he hoped Stiles would let him into this part of his life.

The sheriff cleared his throat. “It smells great in here. Do you two need any help?” The oven beeped in response.

“Actually Dad, we’re just about done. Do you guys want to bring out the potatoes and salad? I’ll grab the chicken casserole.” Stiles hopped off the counter, grabbing the oven mitts and heading towards the oven. When he opened it, the warm ginger and pepper scents from Stiles’ special marinade rolled out with the steam. Stiles followed them to the dining room and the three sat down at the small dining table.

“Wow, you boys put out quite a spread.” Smiling at his son, he added, “Alright. Chef Stiles, I admit that Danny MIGHT give me some competition as your sous chef.”

Stiles grinned back at his dad. “He is pretty talented isn’t he? And he’s our star goalie.”

Danny snorted. “Stiles, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a star goalie.”

“Yeah but if there was, you would totally be it.”

“Well you…”

The sheriff grabbed his chance to try to find out a little more about Danny. “So, is that how you two met?”

“Uh, no. Stiles and I met in chemistry first. We, uh, became lab partners.” Danny grinned at his friend, “Though at first I was a little apprehensive; Stiles has always seemed a little spazzish.” (Oh crap, I probably shouldn’t have said that in front of his dad). His grin dropped,“I mean, uh…”

Stiles just rolled his eyes, responding before his dad could. “Yeah, but now you know I’m a totally boss lab partner.”

Danny nodded, his grin returning. “Yeah. I guess I lucked out there.”

“So, you play goalie on the lacrosse team. First line? Do you think Stiles could make first line?”

Stiles blinked at his dad. What was he doing?

“Um…Stiles is pretty good. But right now, he’s probably not quite there yet. With more practice and training, I think he could probably make first line again. Maybe as a defender.”

The sheriff nodded. (An honest answer, though with some encouragement as well), he thought. “And what about your parents? What do they do?” he asked, unconsciously making himself look bigger and leaning forward.

“My parents are doctors. Dad’s in internal medicine. Mom’s a cardiologist.”

“What do you do for fun?”

“Uh, well, lacrosse. Stiles has gotten me into cooking and movies. Reading some, mostly history and sci-fi. Sometimes I swim, for cross-training.” Danny swallowed, starting to look (and feel) a little nervous.

“Do you drink?”

“No.”

“Smoke?”

“Definitely not.”

“Weed? Other drugs?”

“Wouldn’t really work with lacrosse.”

Danny’s eyes were growing fractionally wider under the onslaught of questions, so Stiles decides to intervene. “Dad…? What’re you doing? You have your interrogating face on,” Stiles asked, giving his dad a confused look.

Stiles’ dad blinked at him. He chuckled a little self-consciously. “Oh, uh, sorry son. Force of habit.”

Stiles just raised his eyebrow. (Okay…?). The rest of dinner proceeded a little more smoothly, discussing the lacrosse season, school, and some town gossip.

\--

Stiles was washing the dishes in the kitchen, his dad drying. Danny had helped put the food away; he had offered to help wash dishes, but Stiles had chased him out, saying that Danny had already washed the dishes from cooking and they needed to make his dad do some work. So Danny had excused himself to the restroom.

Stiles’ dad broke the comfortable silence first. “He seems like a nice boy.”

Stiles looked at his dad and grinned in amusement. His dad was really acting weird today. “Danny? Yeah, he’s a good guy. Still won’t tell me if he thinks I’m attractive though.”

The sheriff chuckled. “Shouldn’t that be obvious by now?”

Stiles gave his dad a bemused look. Before he could ask, Danny came back in. “Hey. Do you guys need any more help?”

The two Stilinkski’s looked over at the teen, who shifted a little under the scrutiny. The sheriff seemed to come to a decision. He nudged his son. “Why don’t you two go watch your movie? I’ll finish up here and, uh, then I think I’ll head up to bed.” (They probably want some privacy), he thought to himself.

“Okay. Um, thanks dad.” Still confused by his dad’s comment, Stiles handed his dad the dish he was washing and headed into the living room.

Danny was about to follow when the sheriff tapped him on the shoulder. “Uh…take care of him, would you? He’s a good boy. And, uh…you seem like a nice young man, too.”

Danny tried not to give the sheriff an odd look. “Um…I will sir. Thank you. Uh, sir. Oh…” he noticed the hand extended towards him. He took the sheriff’s hand in a firm handshake.

The sheriff looked deep into the teen’s eyes. He was satisfied with what he saw there. “Okay. You boys have fun. But, uh, not too much.”

“Yes sir.” Danny said, not sure what else to say.

With another nod, the sheriff headed upstairs, stopping to rub Stiles’ head. “Good night son.”

“Good night dad. Sleep well.”

“You too.”

They worked together, setting up for their movie night, neither of them talking for the moment. The only sounds were of popcorn popping in the microwave coming from the kitchen. Danny broke the quiet first. “…so, was it just me or was that a little awkward?”

Walking to the kitchen for sodas, Stiles replied, “Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what was up with my dad tonight. I mean, he was acting…like…” Stiles trailed off as realization hit him. “Oh. My. God.”

Danny looked up at his lab partner from the couch. “You’re going to catch a fly with your mouth that big. What’s wrong?”

“Oh my god!” Stiles repeated. “He thinks I’m….you’re my…we’re...” He scrubbed his face and fell onto the couch next to Danny, laughing weakly.

“Dude, are you okay?” Danny was a little concerned. What had Stiles just realized?

Stiles grinned sheepishly at him. “Danny, my boy. My dad thinks…he thinks we’re a couple. That’s why he kept asking you questions. And dropping hints,” Stiles thinks a moment longer. “Actually, Scott seems to think that too.”

Danny stared back at the other teen in confusion. “Wait…what?! Why would they think that?”

Stiles shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe they figure it’s impossible to resist my devilish charms?” He waggled his eyebrows at the other teen, who just rolled his eyes in response.

“Yeah, right.”

Stiles laughs. “Oh man, this is too funny. That must have been why Scott was being all mushy about always being friends earlier.”

Danny chuckles along with Stiles. “Yeah. I still remember when I came out. Jackson was…good.” He looked a little wistful. He missed that closeness.

Stiles noticed the shadow passing across his friend’s face. He decided he didn’t like it, so he tried to break the mood. “Geez, I bet that’s why my dad and I had to talk about the ‘facts of life.’”

“Seriously? How was it?” Danny chuckled again. “Actually, I don’t think I want to know. I remember how awkward it was for my parents…so didn’t need them to look into the mechanics of guy-on-guy sex.”

“Oh jeez…that would have been…just too weird for my dad and me. Oh god. I hope he didn’t…” Stiles said, looking at the other boy, a blush climbing up his neck at the thought.

Danny nodded in agreement. "Yeah…I swear we were all blushing for weeks.”

An awkward silence fell between them. The occasionally “pop” came from the kitchen.

“I mean, not that it would be terrible. To be dating you. You do have a good sense of humor," Stiles said eventually.

Danny studies the boy next to him. "Yeah. I guess I could do worse. In the right light, you aren't too bad-looking.”

Stiles stuck his tongue out at that comment. "Gee thanks." Stiles gives Danny a considering look. "I guess you're pretty good-looking yourself. I'm sure guys and girls will be falling over you. You know, once you get your attitude fixed."

Danny laughed, lightly pushing Stiles. "You're one to talk."

Stiles turned to face the other teen, tucking one leg under the other, watching Danny watch him. He really was pretty good-looking. The silence stretched between them, the movie playing in the background, kind of like it had a few weeks ago. Resting his arm on the back of the couch, Stiles decided he might as well ask.

"So...do you find me attractive?"

The boys continued looking at each other.

"...well..."

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers; don't you just love 'em?
> 
> The sequel is written, I just need to edit it and clean it up. So hopefully within the next week or so.


End file.
